Stick with it! As they say, practice makes perfect. I have made hundreds of thousands of stitches by now, just this one hat has around 1200 stitches. The more stitches you make the more even and faster you can make them.

Be adventerous! Once you have the basics down, try to alter patterns or design your own. I think that has really help my skills grow

Also, that scarf you made is cute I bet the recipient will wear it proudly!